Steven Spielberg Once Named the Only 2 Actors He Considered ‘Life-Changing’ to Direct
Steven Spielberg has worked with many unique actors in his long and prolific film career. But there were only two movie stars he felt brought something life-changing to his projects.
The 2 actors that Steven Spielberg found life-changing to work with
Spielberg has worked with almost every big name that Hollywood has had to offer. From Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, to Matt Damon and Liam Neeson. Given his experience with so many gifted performers, Spielberg knew firsthand the lengths actors went through to embody their characters.
“I have worked with many fine, wonderful actors who all bring different values to their characters,” Spielberg once said in an interview with Irish Examiner. “I have learned how they arrive at those very private and personal moments of consolidation where they are really able to imprint on a character, to deliver the message, convince us they are that person.”
Still, even with working with so many talents, Spielberg felt there were two actors that stood out from the best in the business.
“Everybody has a different technique and I quite frankly don’t care how anybody gets to where they need to go. But I will say that I think [Daniel Day-Lewis] and Tom Hanks are the two actors who I have had life-changing experiences with as a director,” Spielberg said.
Steven Spielberg once shared how Tom Hanks and Daniel Day-Lewis are similar
Spielberg has worked with Hanks on a variety of projects. Saving Private Ryan, The Terminal, and Bridge of Spies are some of the films they’ve made. Because of their frequent collaborations, Spielberg pinpointed what made Hanks such a formidable actor.
“One of the happiest experiences I’ve ever had with Tom was on this last film, Bridge of Spies, and it’s simply because Tom is an honest actor, which means that he doesn’t have to act. If he understands the character, he exists in clothing and in the persona of that character without having to work very hard,” Spielberg once told The Tech.
The filmmaker had a similar experience working with Day-Lewis on Lincoln.
It just means, when Tom knows a character, he becomes that person the same way Daniel Day-Lewis became Abraham Lincoln, and I’m just blessed to work with actors like that — [who] can completely drop who they are, or who we think they are, and become totally different people,” Spielberg said.
He was so impressed by Day-Lewis’ ability that he doubted he would’ve made Lincoln if he couldn’t cast the actor.
“I would probably have turned the script over to HBO and done a mini-series,” Spielberg said.
Daniel Day-Lewis originally turned down working with Steven Spielberg on ‘Lincoln’
Whereas Spielberg and Hanks have worked together numerous times, Spielberg and Day-Lewis have only done Lincoln together. But the feature film was a project that Day-Lewis didn’t feel was for him.
“The timeline was simply — I approached Daniel first to play Lincoln eight, nine years ago. We had a very healthy flirt about possibly doing this together. He turned me down,” Spielberg told Collider back in 2012. “And then Liam [Neeson]. Then we both decided to do other things. And then I came back to Daniel.”
But since Neeson and Day-Lewis were good friends, Day-Lewis went to Neeson for advice before committing to the biopic.
“From the moment that Liam decided it was not no longer something that he would be engaged with… he has been in touch with me about it since, and has given me incredible encouragement and in the most generous possible way,” Day-Lewis said. “I was undecided about whether I should do it. He gave me encouragement towards that decision as well.”
